And No Man Shall Touch Her
by Feneris
Summary: AU: "The demon then declared that if he could not have her, than no man would ever touch her again." For five hundred years the women of the Lee family have suffered from a curse. Carried by the sons, and past on the the daughters in turn.
1. The Piano

**Disclaimer: I make no claim to -Man, its characters or setting and other affiliated things; this is a work of fanfiction for non-profit **

And No Man Shall Touch Her…

Feneris

Chapter 1: The Piano

_**O**__nce upon a time, there was a woman whose beauty and purity were unmatched anywhere. It was said that anyone who meet her were so inspired, that they always walked away a better person than they were before. Many compared her to an angel and proclaimed she must have been blessed by God himself. Her heart was free of hate, and she wished nothing but kindness to all creation. _

_It is truly sad that such people, who show the greatest of kindness, often are victims of the greatest of tragedies. _

_A demon came one day, drawn; as such creatures are, by her purity. The demon fell in love with her, and strove for her affections. However, she already had a lover, and felt no love for the fiend. When the demon learned of this, his jealousy and anger ignited, and he swore that if he could not have her, then no man would ever touch her again. _

_So, he cursed her and her entire lineage, and when the woman next saw her lover, her touch burned him to ash. From that point on, no male could so much as brush by her in the hall without suffering terrible harm. Even her own kin was no spared the effects, as even her little brother was unable to hold her hand without his skin sizzling at the touch._

_The women died as a hermit, having isolated herself from others in order to avoid harming them with her curse. But, the demon's cruelty knew no bounds, and ten years past before the curse as heard from again. _

_The woman's brother grew up, met a girl, and got married. His arms burned and blackened when he attempted to hold his newborn daughter. So, the curse lived, carried by the brother's sons and past on to their daughters in turn._

_For over five hundred years, the women of that family have all died alone. Either they shunned from society due to the curse's effect, or they have deliberately isolated themselves to avoid hurting those they love._

_Thus, great tragedy fell on one least deserving of it, and a whole lineage has suffered for the envy of a single demon. _

Sunshine had blessed the town that day, a welcome break from the rain that had poured down for the last week. Lenalee Lee carefully avoided puddles that lingered on the road as she made her way down the street towards a small antique shop on the main street. A small bell chimed as she pushed open the door. There was an alarmed cry and the sound of a plate breaking. A gaunt woman in a black dress rushed to the front of the store.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'll be there in a second!" She wailed. "Oh! How are you doing Lenalee?"

"I'm doing fine Miranda," Lenalee smiled. "How has things been for you?"

"…" Miranda went silent. "You haven't heard have you? Oh, I should have just kept my mouth shut!"

"What happened?" Lenalee asked in alarm.

"A man and his wife came in here the other day," Miranda explained. "They wanted to look at jewelry. So I showed them what I had, a ruby necklace caught her eye and she wanted to try it on." She suddenly burst into tears. "It's all my fault! The moment she slipped it around her neck it started to strangle her! I should have known that necklace was cursed! Now everyone thinks my entire inventory consists of dangerous artifacts!"

"It's not your fault Miranda!" Lenalee reassured her. "You had no way of knowing that there was anything dangerous about it."

"But I should have!" She cried. "No one's going to come here now! I'm ruined!"

"You are not ruined. People have been shopping here for generations and this is the first time anything bad has happened to anyone. This will all blow over. In fact, hire someone to go through everything and check for curses. That will reassure everyone that your stock is safe."

"You really think so?" Miranda asked, wiping some tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't get so worked up like this." She smiled dryly. "So, are you going to that party that Lord Eastwith is holding?" Lenalee's face dropped suddenly. "Ack! I'm sorry, I'm Sorry!"

"It's okay," Lenalee murmured.

"No, no, I really should have known better this time!" Miranda pleaded. "About your curse and…"

"You said you had something you wanted to show me." Lenalee interrupted.

"Ah, yes of course! I forgot," Miranda answered, gladly changing the subject. She waved Lenalee over to the back room of the store. "I got this in yesterday." A wool blanket was draped over a large piece of furniture in the center of the room. Miranda reached over and pulled it off, revealing a finely crafted ebony piano. "I heard you wanted to learn how to play," she explained. "I just had it tuned. It works perfectly fine. I was told the color of the keys were just superficial." She added, pointing to the inverted colours of the keys.

"It's beautiful," Lenalee breathed, running her hands along the wood.

"You can have it," Miranda said quickly. "Think of it as a gift!"

"But…"

"I don't have any room for it," she explained. "It'd be better off in your home than collecting dust in here. I'll even have it delivered!"

"Thank you Miranda," Lenalee smiled. "If you want you can come over tonight. Komui says he's on the verge of turning lead into gold."

"Again? Oh dear… Should I bring the first aid kit as well?"

xXx

Komui looked over his friend's burnt hands. "I've seen worse Reever. What happened anyway?"

"Lenalee was getting out of the carriage and her skirt got caught in the door. I tried to catch her. It's been so long, I'd sort of forgotten about the curse."

"You never forget anything," Komui remarked dryly.

"Okay, so I knew damn well what would happen," Reever spat. "What would you have me do? Let her fall?"

The alchemist sighed. "Lenalee hates it when people get hurt because of her. She won't go to balls because she can never dance with anyone without them getting burnt." He produced some salve and a roll of gauze. "She's going to be beating herself up for this."

"You any closer to finding a way to lift it?" Reever inquired.

"No. I don't even have a clue where to start," Komui admitted. "Five hundred years and all my family has is a diary with the name "Lord Medon" circled, and countless burnt hands." He began wrapping the gauze around Reever's hands. "I've read every book in our damned library, and still nothing! Only half-baked theories, superstitious nonsense, and worthless rituals!" Komui took a deep breath and tied the last of the bandages. "What brought you here today anyway?"

"Well, I know you've been looking for a piano teacher for Lenalee right?" Komui nodded. "Well, I met this kid. He was playing at a hotel in Liverpool. Best music I have ever heard! I talked to him and mentioned you were looking for a teacher. He said he was interested and I told him I would talk to you about it. He's good, really good, I was watching him play and his fingers didn't slip once."

Komui raised any eyebrow. "If he is good as you say, why was he playing in a hotel, instead of at the theaters?"

"I asked the same thing," Reever answered. "So I checked out some of the places he worked before. None of them had anything bad to say about him, and he apparently has a really strong sense of morals, so nothing to worry about there. Anyway, he has this deformed left arm, and it scares away all the potential patrons. There is nothing wrong with it, but the skin is blood-red and the finger nails are black as coal. If you want I can give him a call and you can meet him yourself."

"That won't be necessary. I trust you judgment Reever." Komui assured him. "I know you wouldn't recommend some sleazy lowlife to teach my precious sister, not that he could really do anything anyway."

Reever grinned bitterly. "I supposed that's one good thing about that damned curse."

"Give him a call and tell him he's hired," Komui told him. "Who should I be on the lookout for?"

"His name is Allen Walker," Reever said. "You can't miss him. He's the only adolescent with stark white hair."

_Authors Note: Well there goes me giving up attempted epics… although I do have at least some semblance of a plan for this one…_

_So again, I ask my readers… How did I do? Did the writing bore you? Was it too descriptive or not descriptive enough? Did I use too much dialogue? Was the idea unoriginal or unappealing?_


	2. The Pianist

**Disclaimer: I make no claim to -Man, its characters or setting and other affiliated things; this is a work of fanfiction for non-profit **

And No Man Shall Touch Her…

Feneris

Chapter 2: The Pianist

Allen walker peered over his cards at his opponent. "Very well," he proclaimed, spreading his hand out. "Straight flush of spades! Beat that Timcampy!"

The gold golem seemed to peer up from its own hand, before loosing its hold on the cards. A royal flush splayed out across on the table.

Allen gaped at the cards. "What!? That's the fifth time in a row. Are you cheating or something?"

The golem apologetically coughed up an ace of hearts.

"Thought so," Allen muttered, as he began gathering up the cards. "If you're going to cheat, you have to at least try and be subtle about it." There was a low screech of steel as the train began breaking. "Looks like we're almost there." He picked up his suitcase and opened it up. Timcampy obediently fluttered inside and made himself comfortable. The whistle blew and the compartment lurched slightly as the train came to a complete stop. "Wonder what the Lees are going to be like?" he said to himself as he headed for the door.

xXx

"You sure this piano teacher will be on the train?" Lenalee asked, glancing at the crowd of people exiting the train.

"Reever said he caught the first one from Liverpool yesterday," Komui reassured her. "Unless something happened he should be on this one. So, keep your eye out for a young man with white hair."

"I think I see him," Lenalee stated, peering over the heads of the crowd. "Right there by the baggage car."

"Ah! That looks like him," Komui agreed. He began to push his way through the crowd, carefully making sure no one got near enough to accidently bump into his sister. "Hello," he greeted the boy. "Are you perhaps Allen Walker?"

"Yes I am," Allen replied, holding out his hand for Komui to shake. "And I assume you are Mr. Lee?"

"That's correct. I have heard great things about you Mr. Walker," Komui replied. "If I may introduce you to my sister Lenalee, she's the one you will be teaching."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lee," Allen answered, tipping his head in acknowledgment. "I look forward to teaching you."

"It pleasure to meet you as well," Lenalee replied.

"If you have your things, than I have a carriage waiting for us," Komui added. "I'm sure you're interested in knowing where you'll be staying."

xXx

"A nice house," Allen remarked, as he climbed out of the carriage. "Do you need a hand Miss. Lee?"

"No thank you," Lenalee replied as she hoped down. "Would you like me to show you your room?"

"Ah yes, of course, thank you." Allen picked up his trunk and followed Lenalee through the house. "It was very considerate of your brother to offer room and board." He remarked.

"Well, we have more than enough space here, and I am pretty sure Komui wants someone around in case one of his alchemy experiments goes wrong again."

"Alchemy?" Allen remarked. "I assume he has yet to turn lead into gold?"

Lenalee nodded grimly. "Mostly he just sets things on fire, but he did turn gold into lead once."

"That is certainly more than most alchemists can boast."

Lenalee giggled. "He claims it wasn't an accident, but he still hasn't been able to do it again." They came to a stop in front of a small unused room. "This is where you'll be staying. The bathroom is down the hall and if you're hungry, the kitchen is across the hall from the dinning room."

"Thank you," Allen bowed, dragging his trunk to the center of the room. "Say, where's your piano anyway? Might as well see what you've got."

"Of course, it's in the upstairs lounge." She waved him up a flight of stairs into a brightly windowed room overlooking a field. The piano was tucked away in the corner, the sunlight gleaming off the black keys.

"An odd choice for key colour," he remarked, as he sat down on the bench. He placed his bag on the floor and tried a few keys. "But it's obviously of superior make."

"It was a gift from a friend," Lenalee explained. "She runs an antique store here in town."

"She clearly knew value when she saw it," Allen agreed. He reached over and opened his bag. Timcampy flew out and began fluttering about the room, before settling down on the sheet stand.

Lenalee jumped in alarm. "What the!?"

"That's Timcampy," Allen explained. "He's my golem. I don't like carrying around sheet music, so he stores all the notes in his memory."

"Wha… how?" she mumbled.

"I'll show you. Bring up Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Tim."

The golem opened its mouth, projecting the image of a music sheet in the air.

"That's amazing," Lenalee breathed, leaning in to get a better look, all the while being careful not to touch Allen. "I've never seen anything like him before."

"Yeah, you rarely see them, but they can do amazing things. I've got an entire book of sheet music stored inside him. Cats seem to like trying to eat him though." Allen remarked. He placed his fingers on the keys, and soon the music of the piano began drifting through the house.

Lenalee seated herself in a chair, and politely listened as Allen's hands glided across the keys. "That was beautiful," she remarked as Allen finished up.

"Thank you," Allen answered. "It's a lovely type of music for sure."

A muffled bang suddenly sounded from somewhere in the house, followed almost immediately by the eye-watering smell of rotting eggs. "What the hell?" Allen gasped. "What just happened?"

Lenalee lurched to her feet, a look of terror on her face. "KOMUI!" She sprinted out of the room and down the stairs. Allen quickly followed her, holding a handkerchief to his mouth to guard against the smell. Foul smoke was billowing out of an open door. Lenalee swung through the door, and froze at what she saw.

Komui was lying on the floor in front of the bookcase, a trickle of blood was running down his face, and smoke was pouring from a broken beaker on the desk.

"_Don't touch him!" _she mental screamed to herself. _"You'll only make things worse!" _Every instinct in her body was yelling at her to rush in and see if her brother was alright. _"If you touch him, he will burn, and then he'll be even worse off." _

Allen brushed by her and ran over to the prone man. "Miss. Lee! Get a doctor! He might have a concussion!"

Lenalee nodded quickly and ran out of the room. _"Get a doctor, get a doctor," _she repeated in her head. She tore the phone off the hook and began dialing a number. _"Please let Komui be alright."_

xXx

"Your brother is fine," the doctor declared, as he shut the door to Komui's room. "He was simply knocked out from a bump on the head. Considering the last time I was called here, I honestly expected something worse."

Lenalee let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you for coming doctor, it's good to know Komui is going to be okay."

"Not a problem. Just try and convince your brother not to try anything too dangerous in the future, though I doubt he will listen." The doctor waved goodbye as he left the house.

"So your brother is alright?" Allen asked the moment the doctor was out of sight.

"Yes," she sighed. "I always feel so useless whenever he gets hurt from one of his experiments. Last time he nearly burnt the house down."

"That bad?"

Lenalee laughed to herself. "He always seems to think that nothing can go wrong, no matter what it is he is trying to do. He's a real fool sometimes, but he is family after all."

"Yeah. Family is a treasure to be sure," Allen agreed.

"What is your family like?" Lenalee inquired.

"Foster family actually," the boy replied. "My foster father was an entertainer; he liked to do acrobatics and such. My foster uncle was the one who taught me how to play piano; he also gave me Timcampy as well."

"Oh, what are they doing now?"

"They're dead now," he replied.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, they've been dead for a while," Allen remarked. "It's funny, before my father died, he told me to always keep walking and never stop until the day you died. I've taken it to heart. I keep going forward without dwelling in the past."

"That is certainly wise advice," Lenalee agreed.

"Admittedly, it is sometimes hard to follow that advice. But it has served me well. I have not ended up like a certain no good, womanizing, alcoholic_, _**sleazy** **two bit con-man, whose claim to fame is having once desecrated the tomb of a saint!"**A black aura had sprung up around Allen with those words, and Lenalee was almost certain a pair of spiral horns had sprouted from his head.

"Would I know this person?" Lenalee asked in alarm.

"**You would know who I am referring to if you had**. **If I ever see that son-of-a-bitch again…**"

"You did not part on good terms I assume?"

"**The bastard ran off in the middle of the night and left me with nothing but Timcampy and his 20,000 pound bill from the local whorehouse. I barely escaped with my life." **

"_Change the subject, quick!" _she mentally screamed. "Would you like something to eat? Jerry, our cook won't be here for a few hours, but I'm sure we could scrounge up something."

The black aura vanished instantly, and Allen turned to her with joyous eyes. "That would be wonderful!"

"_You were right Jerry," _she mentally thought. _"Food can defuse nearly any situation." _

xXx

Komui awoke sometime before dinner, and after fretting over the destroyed state of his lab, made an interesting discovery.

"You turned lead into gold!?" Lenalee exclaimed in disbelief.

"Err… not exactly…" Komui fished a piece of golden rock out of his pocket and put it on the table. Allen carefully examined it, before bursting out laughing.

"You turned lead into fools gold!" he choked out between laughs. "Someone up there definitely has a sense of humor!"

"So what did you do this time?" Lenalee asked, ignoring the cackling pianist.

"I'm not entirely sure," her brother admitted. "I was going to mix sulfur with horse's bile, and then heat the mixture while adding crushed quartz mixed with lead. But the beaker cracked, spilling sulfur into the fire. It surprised me so much I bumped into the bookshelf, causing the 'I' volume of the encyclopedia fall, hitting me on the head and knocking me out."

Lenalee cast him and incredulous look. "You truly are an idiot, brother."

"Lenalee! I'm hurt!" Komui wailed. "Do you not appreciate the advances I have made to the world?"

"If you are referring to the homunculi you made, I'd hardly call that an advance, more like a disaster."

"Nonsense!" Komui protested. "Komurin was a perfectly viable and orderly creation. A rampage here and there never hurt anything. People merely call me mad, because they cannot appreciate my genius."

"You mean you're the Mad Alchemist!" Allen gasped out, now nearly doubled over with laughter. "The one responsible for the zombie vitamin scare, and the hair growth potion that made people bald?"

"There was nothing wrong with ether of those things," Komui insisted. "The zombie vitamin wore off in a couple of days, and everyones' hair grew back eventually."

Lenalee cast him an irritated glare, but anyone could see that she only half meant it.

Allen couldn't keep back a residual snicker. _"I think I'm going to like it here," _he thought.

xXx

Lenalee was honestly surprised that Allen had not found out about her curse. It had been a week, and nothing had happened. There had been several times when she was sure he had accidently bumped into her in the hallway, but he had not reacted with anything more than a polite 'pardon.'

Now she was starting to worry. He was going to find out eventually. The only question was when and how. As much as she wished, she could not gather the strength to actually tell him herself. As fleeting as she knew it was, she wanted another person in her life that was not afraid of her and what could happen if they happened to touch her.

Komui and Miranda had not told him anything, feeling that if Lenalee hadn't told him anything, she didn't want him to know.

She knew of course that if she didn't tell him, he'd likely find out the hard way. The thought of Allen suffering from severely burnt hands never ceased to tug at her conscience. She had been working up the courage to tell him all week.

If only she hadn't used that footstool.

xXx

Lenalee sighed as she pushed the rickety footstool up to the cupboard. _"How on earth did Komui manage to break the mortar and pestle he had in his room?" _She fumbled about in the dark cupboards looking for the spare that should have been up there.

"Err… Miss. Lee, are you okay up there? That stool looks rather unsafe," she head Allen call out.

"I'm fine!" she answered. _"Where is it?" _The piece of equipment she was searching for was not there, nor were several others that should normally share the space. _"Don't tell me he already broke it!" _she hissed to herself. The stool shook as she looked deeper in the cupboards, searching for something she knew she would not find.

The sudden snap of the breaking stool leg might as well have been a cannon shot.

"MISS. LEE!"

She was falling backwards; everything seemed to be going in slow motion. She saw Allen rushing forward to help her and the warm feeling of his hands stopping her fall. "_He's going to scream," _was her first coherent thought.

"Miss. Lee, are you alright!?"

"_He didn't scream?" _Lenalee's mind seemed to freeze at the revelation. _"He's touching me, he doesn't know about the curse, and he's not screaming?"_

"Miss. Lee?" Allen repeated, becoming worried at her lack of response.

Lenalee's head snapped over to look at him. His face showed only alarm and concern; nothing about his body language suggested he was in pain. "Show me your hands!" she blurted out.

"What!?"

"Show me your hands," she repeated. Her mind was racing at the implication of what was happening. A man was touching her, and he was not burning.

"Okay…" Allen hesitantly held out his gloved hands for her to see.

"Take off your gloves," she breathed.

Allen sighed and stripped off both gloves. He held out his hands so Lenalee could get a good look at them. The right hand was smooth and pale, the left the colour of spilt blood.

Both were unburnt.

Lenalee stared at his hands in disbelief, before doing something she had never done in her life.

She fainted.

_Authors Note:_

_Well this is the second chapter in this little project of mine… I wanted to write down some interactions between Allen, Lenalee, and Komui as well as explore some of the less-obvious side-effects of Lenalee's curse, and get to the first main plot twist of course. _

_Again… I ask my readers… did I do okay, did the characters yak too much, was the chapter layout confusing, and all those questions a paranoid author has._

_*Revision: Made it Miss. Lee instead of Mrs. Lee... I always get those two mixed up  
_


	3. The Bookman

**Disclaimer: I make no claim to -Man, its characters or setting and other affiliated things; this is a work of fanfiction for non-profit **

And No Man Shall Touch Her…

Feneris

Chapter 3: The Bookman

The world slowly started to come back into focus for Lenalee. Blackness faded from her vision as she opened her eyes, blinking at the light shining in through the windows. She was lying on a couch in the lounge, with Miranda sitting on a nearby chair reading a book.

"You're awake!" her friend cried, the moment she noticed Lenalee open her eyes. "You gave us all quiet a scare when you fainted like that."

"Where's Walker?" she asked, giving her head a shake as she pulled herself up.

"Talking with your brother," Miranda told her. "Komui's convinced he had something to do with you fainting. What happened anyway?"

"I was getting a new mortar and pestle for Komui, and the stool broke. Allen caught me."

"The poor boy!" Miranda gasped. "I'll make sure to give him something for the burns."

"He didn't burn," Lenalee muttered.

Miranda froze. "What!? Are you sure?"

"Completely. I saw his hands after he caught me. Wasn't even singed."

"What does that mean?" Miranda whispered. "Komui got his fingers scorched just helping me move you onto the couch."

"I'm not sure," Lenalee admitted. "I just hope Komui's not being too hard on Walker."

xXx

Heavy curtains were drawn across the windows, casting the small room into darkness. A single small candle burned on the table. Allen was tied to a chair looking utterly bewildered.

"So tell me again, what happened?" Komui asked, pacing in front of Allen, all the while twirling a nasty looking knife in his hands.

"Miss. Lee was getting something from the cupboard, the stool broke, I caught her, she asks to see my hands, and then she fainted."

"I see… Show me your hands then!"

"What!?" Allen held out his hands, secretly wondering if the entire family just might be crazy.

"You're lying," Komui declared. "You're hands aren't burnt."

"What does that have to do with catching her?"

Komui's grin was positively evil. "My dear sister has a very nasty curse on her, and if any man so much as touches her, he gets burned rather badly. Therefore, unless you are willing to admit you are not a man, you cannot have touched her."

Allen blinked at him owlishly. "Pardon me for saying so, but are you sure that bump on the head didn't make you go mad?"

Komui ripped off his glove to show his burnt fingers. "Do you think these came out of my mind!?"

"You probably burnt yourself yesterday," Allen shrugged. "I am not lying. I caught her when she fell off that stool and I am perfectly fine. If what you said was true. I should have burns all over my hands, arms, and chest. I do not."

"Well than," Komui reached into a drawer and removed what looked to be a handheld industrial augur. The kind normally reserved for digging wells through solid rock. "Maybe this will help speed this interrogation up."

The boy went as white as a sheet, and emitted a sound reminiscent of a mouse being crushed under a wagon wheel.

The door was suddenly thrown open, casting a great swath of light into the room.

"Komui!" Lenalee yelled. "What on earth are you doing!?"

"Just trying to figure out what happened," Komui answered cheerfully. "He's obviously lying when he says he caught you."

"He's not."

Komui froze, his mouth moving like a fish out of water. "But… wha… hands… not…"

"I know. That's why I fainted," Lenalee answered.

"You mean…"

"Yes."

"Could someone please untie me?" Allen hissed frustration and confusion plain across his face. "And tell me what in hell is going on!"

xXx

"You mean this curse is real!" Allen exclaimed, nearly spilling his tea in shock. The group had made their way out of the small room and up into the lounge, where a pot of tea and some hasty apologies had managed to restore a civil mood.

Lenalee nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

Miranda cast a nervous look at her friend before adding, "I've seen it happen. Someone bumped into her in my shop, and he burned and blistered where he made contact. It was like someone had splashed boiling oil on him."

"So why didn't anything happen when I caught Miss. Lee?" the pianist asked.

"Not a clue," Komui admitted, cheerfully pretending he was not the person that had threatened painful death on the boy moments before. "Never has this happen before at all. Not a single mention of it in five hundred years." He politely coughed into his fist. "Err… I actually placed a call to a Bookman in London. He sounded very interested when he heard about this little discovery. Umm… He's going to be coming up here to check it out."

"A Bookman?" Allen raised his eyebrows in interest. "They're more historians than curse breakers."

"Yes, I realize that," Komui admitted. "But this one said he had experience with curses before, and he might know more about how they might be broken then we do."

"I know a bit about magic and such things," Allen admitted. "If you need my help, you have it."

"Thank you," Lenalee replied. "That means a lot to me."

"No one who doesn't deserve it, should have to suffer under such a curse," Allen answered.

"If I have anything in my shop that might help, you're welcome to it," Miranda added. "Sorry I can't offer more…"

"You've help me more by being a friend all these years," Lenalee reassured her. "It means a lot to me."

"Well!" Komui grinned. "Now that that little misunderstanding is straightened out. I believe we need some lunch in us!"

xXx

The clock struck twelve. Allen lurched upright in bed, his stomach growling. Timcampy snuggled deeper into his hair, used to Allen's daily routine of midnight snacking.

Being mindful not to wake anyone, the boy darted down the hallway and into the pantry, where he promptly began making himself a beef sandwich, using an entire loaf of bread.

Piano music wafted down from somewhere upstairs. Timcampy stirred, shook himself lightly and started to fly towards the music. Allen grabbed his sandwich and quickly followed the golden golem to the lounge.

Lenalee was sitting at the piano, carefully going through the motions of a simple song. Timcampy fluttered through the door and settled himself on the music stand, his tail swishing through the air like a metronome.

Allen entered the room and seated himself, being careful not to disturb her. She glided over the keys, the notes flowing from the heart of the instrument.

Allen politely applauded the moment she finished the song. "You did well Miss. Lee."

"Thank you, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to practice a bit. Err… what are you doing up this late?"

"Midnight snack," Allen mumbled, pointing to the sandwich. "What's keeping you up Miss Lee?"

"Please, call me Lenalee," she answered. "I was just thinking about the curse."

"What about it?"

"Everything," she sighed. "Everything about this damned curse. I don't know what to do about it anymore."

"Don't worry," Allen tried to reassure her. "I'm sure between us and the Bookman, we'll find a way to lift it."

"What if you don't? I've never heard of someone actually managing to lift the curse off anything before. I hate it when I hurt people, just by being near them. I'm tired of no one wanting anything to do with me, because they're all afraid of me. I'm tired of Komui getting hurt with his experiments and I'm unable to do anything. I'm tried of it all!" her shoulders sagged in defeat. She suddenly threw herself from the piano bench and threw her arms around Allen. "Why you?" she sobbed. "Why don't you burn? What's so special about you?" Her body shook in his arms as he hesitantly held on to her. "Everyone before has! My father did, Komui does, even the boy on the street who shines shoes has!" She took a deep shuddering breath, tears running down her cheeks. "Why me? What did I do to get stuck with this? What horrible things have I done to deserve this punishment?"

Allen merely held onto her and waited for her sobbing to subside. "Lenalee, you've done nothing to deserve this. You have one of the purest souls I have ever seen. To see you suffer like this is one of the greatest injustices I have witnesses." he whispered.

"Y… you think so?"

"I know it is so," he answered. "My uncle, he was more than just a pianist. He was also a magician. I saw him lift a curse from a magic mask once, so I know it can be done. He told me as well, that all curses have a counter and that as long as you do not give up, you will find there is always a way to lift them."

"Thank you." Lenalee pulled away from his embrace and wiped her eyes. "It feels good to finally get that all out."

Allen smiled as he removed a handkerchief from his pocket. "Here wipe our eyes. If you ever need someone to listen, I am always here."

xXx

The Bookman arrived a few days later.

Allen had been guiding Lenalee through a new song, when the doorbell rang. They had opened the door, to be greeted by an old man with dark circles around his eyes, and a young man with an eye patch, who was laden down with a large trunk.

"I am the Bookman you called," the old man explained. "I'm here to investigate Miss Lee's curse."

"Ah, of course, come in Mr…?"

"You may call me Bookman," the old man answered. "This here is my apprentice Lavi."

"Pleased to meet ya!" the young man waved.

"If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the lounge," Lenalee offered. "Allen, can you go find my brother?" Allen nodded and ran off. Lenalee lead the two Bookmen upstairs, where Lavi dumped the trunk on the floor and both seated themselves in chairs. Allen and Komui joined them shortly.

"So, tell me about this curse," Bookman asked. "What exactly does it do, what triggers it, and how long has it been active?"

"She's had it since she was born," Komui explained. "Basically, every man that touches her is burnt; like he has touched a hot iron."

"And Mr. Walker does not trigger this effect?"

"I didn't even realize anything was out of the ordinary," Allen answered.

"Interesting…"

Lavi snickered. "Maybe you're not affected because you're not a man."

Allen glared at him. "I know what gender I am, thank you very much," he hissed.

"Ye, touchy aren't you," Lavi retorted. "I'm just saying that the reason may be simpler than we think." He got up from his chair and walked over to behind Lenalee. "Maybe you even broke the curse and didn't even realize it." He reached down and placed a hand on Lenalee's shoulder. "F---!" he jerked his hand back in alarm. The skin was burnt red and blisters were already forming on his hand.

Bookman's eyebrow jumped up with curiosity. "Thank you for giving me a first hand glimpse of the curses effect. _Idiot apprentice." _he cleared his throat. "Lavi, get the idol out of the trunk please."

"Yeah, yeah, Panda," Lavi muttered, cradling his burnt hand. "F---, that hurt!"

"I can get something for that," Lenalee added. "We err… keep a supply of burn slave handy."

"He'll be fine," Bookman snapped. "It'll teach him not to be so brash with his actions."

"Sadistic old man," Lavi hissed, as he flipped open the trunk and retrieve a parcel wrapped in thick wool cloth. He placed it on the center table and undid the strings binding it together. The cloth fell away to reveal a stone statue of… something. It was a creature that looked to be a combination of a squid, a bat, and a goat.

"Take off your glove and touch the statue," Bookman instructed Allen.

Allen stripped off his gloves, reached out and placed his had on the stone. He jerked back immediately with a yelp. "It zapped me!"

"That idol has a minor curse on it," Lavi explained, as he quickly warped the idol back up. "It zaps you if you touch it with your bare hands."

"That proves that your apparent immunity to Miss. Lee's curse just extends to her curse. It's not some sort of blanket immunity to curses in general."

"So what does it mean?" Lenalee asked.

"It means that there is something about Mr. Walker that exempts him from the curse."

"And what do you mean by that exactly?" Komui asked.

"Basically, Mr. Walker should be affected by the curse, but isn't," Bookman clarified. "The most likely reason is that something in the curse itself is set so that people like Mr. Walker are not harmed by it. What exactly that is, I do not know. Most often, these exceptions are the casters, who do not want to be caught by their own curse."

"Really…" Komui cast a suspicious glance at Allen.

Allen went white. "Don't look at me! I can't cast a single spell, let alone place a curse on anything!"

"Sure…"

"Mr. Lee," Bookman interrupted. "Can you tell me anything about how this curse came about?"

"Well, there is a story in our family that says, in a nutshell, that one of our ancestors caught the attention of a demon and when she rebuffed his advances, he cursed her so that no man should ever touch her again." Komui explained. "How much truth is in it, I do not know."

"There is usually a grain of truth in all stories," the bookman remarked. "Has any of your previous research come close to discovering who the "demon" is or was?"

"The only thing we have is the name "Lord Medon" circled in a diary."

Lavi started laughing. "Sounds like we might have our demon. Medon is obviously an anagram of the word 'demon!'"

"That seems a bit…"

"Obvious? Yes, but demons seem to like seeing how obvious they can be without getting caught," Lavi remarked. "One demon went under the name "Iam Nothuman" say it slower and you have "I am not human." It was decades before anyone found him out."

"Some don't even use aliases," Allen remarked. "They can have their demonic names well known, and as long as they look human, people will believe it is just coincidence."

"You know this how?" Komui leered.

"You'd be surprised some of the things you can pick up just traveling on the train," Allen shrugged.

"So you think this Lord Medon might be the demon that placed the curse?" Lenalee asked.

Lavi shrugged. "At the very least, he's someone we should check out. Maybe he's the one responsible for the curse, maybe he's not, maybe he is a demon, maybe he's just a man."

Bookman nodded. "When attempting to break a curse, it is always good to learn about who cast it, and why."

"Medon…" Allen muttered, tapping his head as if trying to remember something. "Tim, where have we heard that name before?" he asked the gold ball sitting on his head.

Timcampy opened his mouth to project an image of a large manor in the air, a grand ball room, and the image of a hundred people crowding the floor.

"Medon Manor!" he exclaimed. "There's a place just outside of Oxford called that! I played piano for a ball there once."

"A good place as any to start," Bookman agreed. "Mr. Walker, do you think you could find it again?"

"Easily," Allen nodded. "I can't remember if the lady who hired me was a Medon, but it's better than nothing."

"Lavi, you and Allen check out this place," Bookman suggested.

"I'm coming with them," Lenalee insisted. "I'm tried of sitting around the house."

"But…" Komui started to protest.

"I'm not helpless," Lenalee sighed. "Besides, we're only going to a house to ask questions, not storming a castle!"

"Then me and your brother shall examine the more local resources," Bookman stated.

"I'll go get tickets to Oxford then," Komui sighed in defeat.

Lenalee smiled cheerfully. For the first time in her life, she felt hope.

_**Authors Note: **__Well getting onto the main flesh of this story… how it goes from here I can only hope I live up to your expectations…_

_Again… what did I do wrong? Did you find things confusing? Too fast paced… too slow paced what?_


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